Lars Ulrich Would Be ‘Surprised’ If Next Metallica Album Came Out Before 2015

Better be patient, Metallica fans, because drummer Lars Ulrich isn't expecting to release another album for another couple of years.

Metallica just took a trip to South Africa to perform one concert in Johannesburg and two shows in Cape Town. During an interview with South African news source Channel24, Ulrich spoke about Metallica's next release, the band's longevity and much more.

"It would surprise me if the next full-length Metallica record would come out before 2015," Ulrich tells Channel24. "It takes us awhile to make records, and we're also so busy with so many other things. But we'll get around to it eventually."

Ulrich also offered some inside info on Metallica's longevity. "When you're younger, you're a bit more fit for fight, or ready to kind of… it's either your way or no way," Ulrich explains. "But I think as you get older, you start realizing that what you have is special. [We realized] that at least in this band, Metallica is the sum of all parts, so if all the parts are not there, it's not Metallica. So you have to find a way to kind of give and take and balance and compromise, and sometimes you lead and sometimes you follow, and sometimes you dig your heels in and other times you let go. It takes some time to figure that out."

Ulrich continues, "I think a really big help in our situation was the fact that we all had kids more or less around the same time. So when you have no kids — and this is the 'sound bite' version of this — you think primarily of yourself. When you have children, you think primarily of others before yourself. So, I think some of the things about the way you relate to your children and put your children first, you learn to, kind of, put your own needs secondary. And I think the fact that we all had kids at the same time helped instill that in us. And so you try to, sort of, sometimes just put your own needs second and learn to trust that you can go with somebody else's thought and opinion."

Check out Lars Ulrich's full video interview with Channel24 in the player below.